


The letter

by Meep_55



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, My First Fanfic, Tags Are Hard, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-29
Updated: 2020-10-30
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:55:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,093
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25867768
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Meep_55/pseuds/Meep_55
Summary: The letter Adora wrote to Catra (in the Rebel Princess guide book) accidently gets sent, Catra receives it, drama ensues...Inspired by "To all the boys I've loved before"Set during S2 (cause that's the only place I could really squeeze this in)
Relationships: Adora & Glimmer (She-Ra), Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Catra & Scorpia (She-Ra)
Comments: 11
Kudos: 53





	1. Oops, that happened

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nov/29/2020 edit: Drew and added art cause why not lol
> 
> This is the first fic that I've ever written so constructive criticism (for anything; story, formatting, grammar etc) are welcome  
> (Fyi this chapter's set in between episode 3 and 4)
> 
> Anyways hope this is somewhat enjoyable!

**Adora’s POV**

Adora was sitting on her chair, eyebrows furrowed in concentration. Her wrist was starting to ache from writing for so long, but she couldn’t stop. Not when she had finally figured out what to say. After briefly talking with Perfuma about her _really_ conflicted feelings towards Catra, she had suggested writing all of her thoughts down. She didn’t specify whether she meant a list or a letter, but right now the latter felt like a better option for her. 

Would she actually send it though? She wasn’t sure. It would be nice to have Catra finally listen to her without hearing her retorting back every sentence, but did she really want to spill out all her feelings to her ex-best friend who hated her now? After stopping mid-writing to ponder those options, the blonde had concluded that she could decide that after she was done writing. 

Another hour flew by and Adora finally put down her pen, satisfied with the result. Now was the time to actually decide. To send or to not send? _You know what? I need Catra to know exactly how I feel about having to leave her behind! And that just because I have new friends doesn’t mean I don’t miss her!_ she thought as she grabbed an envelope, put the letter in and wrote its destination. 

But right after she sealed it, a wave of worry made its way into her mind. _What if she uses this against me? Knowing her, she’ll either brush it off like it’s nothing or bring it up the next time we meet and keep me from concentrating while fighting_. Her head then managed to think of a bunch of more reasons she shouldn’t do this and she had no choice but to listen to it. _At least writing this all down feels good._

But before she could take the paper out and tuck it in between her journal, a growl from her stomach announced that she was in need of food. _Well the letter won’t send itself if I take a quick snack break right?_ And with that, she got up from her chair, stretched a bit, flipped the envelope just in case someone thought she was gonna betray the rebellion or something, and walked out of the room in the direction of the kitchen.

  
  


**Glimmer’s POV**

Glimmer excitedly teleported into Adora’s room. “Adora guess what?! My mom finally told me that we can go reclaim that fortress back from the Horde if we take the other princesses of the alliance!” Once she finished her sentence, the princess finally noticed that Adora was nowhere to be seen. _Huh. Guess I’ll just wait till she gets back._

While sitting on her friend’s chair, a piece of paper caught her eyes. _What’s this?_ After taking a moment to examine her finding, the sparkly girl realized that the paper was, in fact, a letter. _I wonder who it’s for? Is it one of the other princesses? But we see eachother pretty much every day since we are fighting in a war together... _ She was almost tempted to open it and see what it said, but decided against it. _If it’s something personal, it would be rude to peek._

Then, a brilliant idea sparked into her head. _If she already put it in an envelope and all, that probably means it’s ready to be sent, so I should do it for her_!

So, she grabbed the letter, unaware of the name on it, and called for one of the messenger birds outside. She then tied the letter to its leg and sent it off, watching it fly in the direction of the Fright Zone. 

After twenty minutes or so, Adora walked back into her room.

**Adora’s POV**

Adora was surprised to see Glimmer in her room, to say the very least. She knew that she had gone to Queen Angella to convince her to let them go to a fortress and get it back, so she thought that they would argue for at least another hour. 

“So, what did she say?” the blonde girl asked, assuming that that was the reason why she had decided to come here. 

“She said yes! But as long as we take the other princesses with us.”

Her face lit up. “That’s awesome!” After that rather disappointing mission at Alwyn, she wanted to get back into action and continue to stop the Horde from taking over Etheria.

She was then about to ask for the date of the attack when she noticed that the letter had disappeared. “Uhh Glimmer, did you happen to see a letter on my desk?” she inquired, hoping that her friend wouldn’t ask questions about who it's for and all the other details she didn’t want to share right now.

“Oh yeah that letter! I sent it for you!”

If her brain wasn’t freaking out before, it definitely was now. “You WHAT?!” Glimmer’s proud demeanor was soon extinguished hearing the panic in Adora’s voice. 

“Well I saw that letter and since it was enveloped and all I figured that it just needed to be sent so I did that for you…” The last words were drowned out by Adora face-planting into her desk while making a noise in between groaning and whining. 

“Who was it for anyways?” Glimmer asked, clearly wondering why Adora was acting the way she was. 

“Catra…” she whined out, and Glimmer froze. 

“Catra?! Like the Catra that is in the Horde who led the attack on Brightmoon? But why did you write a letter to her in the first place??” 

At this point it would be better to spill everything, not that it was much a secret anyways. “I talked with Perfuma a while ago about how I had conflicting feelings towards Catra, and she suggested that I write it all down so I did. And before you ask why I chose to write a letter rather than a list, it just felt more suiting ok?” 

When she finally looked up from where her face was lying, Glimmer now looked terrified and incredibly sorry about the fact that she literally sent a letter to an enemy soldier exposing her friend’s emotions. 

“Oh my gosh I am _so_ sorry I did that! Should I teleport to get the letter back?” 

Adora sighed in defeat. “It’s no use. We have no idea where it could be by now and even if we did it’s probably in Horde territory by now. When did you send it?”

“About twenty minutes ago..” Glimmer’s words were barely more than a whimper.

“Then it’s certainly in Horde territory.” As she said that, she tried to imagine what Catra’s response to it would be. 

_I just hope nothing bad happens because of it.. Maybe she'll just ignore it! Yeah! We’re supposed to be enemies now so she’ll just think it's a tactic to lower her guard and ignore it! Hopefully! Cause if she doesn’t she’ll most likely use it to her advantage and that's not good!_

* * *

**Catra's POV**

Catra was hanging out on one of the rooftops in the Fright zone, brainstorming battle techniques, ways to ruin the rebellion, how to make Adora annoyed, things like that. She didn’t know why, but just being here felt comforting and relaxing. Maybe it was due to the memories she had here, talking, bickering or just spending time with her ex-best friend, even if those memories were stained by bitterness, things were way different than what it used to be and the feline now hated Adora for leaving her.

While gazing into the distance, Catra noticed a bird flying into her view. _Huh, weird. Birds normally don't wander into here._ Feeling her cat-like instinct brewing in her veins she almost sprang up and attempts to catch it, thinking y _ou know, I always wanted to catch one of those._ But before she put her plan in action, she then realized that it was actually flying towards her and not passing by, with a letter tied to its leg. And after a brief inspection, she realized that it was from Adora.

Motivated by curiosity, Catra grabbed the letter and started to read it.

_“Dear Catra, You are my enemy now, and you always will be. I know that now.”  
D_ _id she just figure that out?_ Catra snorted. _I knew she was dense but i didn't know she was_ _ this clueless. _

_“All this time, I had hope. Hope that you would see the light. Hope that you would realize that Etheria is a beautiful place that needs to be saved, and not destroyed.”  
_ Reading that phrase she felt a twinge of guilt. After all the times she tried to mess with her, the battle of brightmoon, even after she left her hanging in that ruin, she still wished that she would join her?

_“I have no hope now, and that makes me sad. So sad. Because I miss you Catra, and I will always miss you.”  
_ "Well it’s nice to know that the one person who believed in me doesn’t anymore." She muttered bitterly.

_“I miss your smile. I miss the gleam in your eye when you would beat me in a race during training. I miss laughing with you when we would play a prank on one of the other cadets in the barracks. I even miss you snoring in the bunk above me.”  
_ Seeing Adora list all the things she missed about her, a feeling of resentment rose in her stomach. If she cared so much, why had she left? 

“ _These are the things I remember when I think about you. I’m going to try to remember the good things about you, instead of the bad ones. Because those break my heart.”  
_ For some strange reason, seeing those words filled her with more determination to destroy the rebellion. _Well good luck with that princess, cause I’m gonna make your life even more of a hell from now on._

_“I’m sorry things ended up like this. I really am. But even if we could go back in time, I wouldn’t do things any other way.”  
_ _Of course you wouldn’t. Being the people-pleaser you are. You always ‘have to do what’s right'._

_“Love, Adora”_

Once she’s finished, her head is spinning. Why did she send this? Did she mean that ‘love’ as in romantic love or friend love? It was probably the latter but she couldn't help but hope just a little that it was romantic. _Ugh why am I still attached to her? She left me! We’re supposed to be enemies now!_

While trying to figure out why Adora had sent this and what to do, Catra didn't notice a huge figure coming behind her.

"Hey Wildcat! How are you doing?" Scorpia cheerfully greeted her best-friend while hugging her from behind. The brunette let out a surprised yelp.

"Scorpia, remember that talk we had _two days ago_ about personal space?" Catra angrily said through gritted teeth.

"Oh yeah oops. Sorry" Scorpia apologized before putting her down.

"Whatever. Why are you here anyways?"

Scorpia fidgeted with her claws. "Oh well, you see, we haven't really hung out in a while and I was wondering if you wanted to- hey what's that?" Right at that moment, Catra realized that she was still holding the letter out in the open where Scorpia could see it. 

"It's nothin-" But before she could tear it up or something, Scorpia snatched it out of her grasp.

"Oooo! Is this a letter? Who is it from?" Her face was immediately clouded by confusion once she opened it up and saw the name at the bottom. "Why did Adora send you a letter?"

"No idea. You think I would know?" she hissed.

"What are you gonna do about it?" Scorpia asked. "Are you gonna reply to it or-"

"I'll do nothing for now." Catra cut her off.

And that's exactly what she did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!  
> I'll try to update this asap but I'm not sure when exactly, since I’m a slow writer and school starts tomorrow


	2. Hills burn in California, my turn to ignore ya

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The battle that takes place in ep. 4 (Roll with it) occurs, and Scorpia and Adora have a little chat while fighting. Also the respective sides of this conflict panic about the fact that they both acknowledged that the letter exists. (moreso on Adora’s side)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! First of all, tysm for all the hits and kudos! Like I said before this is my first fic so I really appreciate every single one of you guys checking this fic out and they really motivate me to keep writing  
> This chapter is way shorter than the last one (and took less time to write it) but hope it's enjoyable nonetheless!
> 
> Chapter title’s from ‘All the good girls go to hell’ (Sorry if it doesn’t make sense, I had no idea what to name this chapter but I didn’t want it to be just “Ch 2” either)

**Adora’s POV**

A week has passed since ‘the letter incident’ and surprisingly, nothing has happened so far. No letter sent back, no surprise attack because Catra was pissed at Adora, nothing. She didn’t know whether it was because Catra had decided to ignore it, or if it got lost on its way. Either way, Adora decided to forget this whole thing ever happened. 

And soon, she didn’t have the time to ponder about it anyways because they had a pass to retake, and she didn’t want to mess _anything_ up.

Unfortunately, the planning session for it went somewhat-disastrously. But thanks to the pep talk from Glimmer, they were filled with determination to get the Horde flag off the fortress.

.

.

While the others were taking care of the turrets and soldiers, She-ra triumphantly ran over to a silhouette who she assumed was Catra. “It’s over, Catra. You’ve lost” 

“Catra’s not here.” Scorpia stepped out the shadows, and she couldn’t help but feel surprised. So all this time they spent trying to counter whatever Catra threw at them was for nothing? “But I’m happy to take you down for her.” And with that, the force captain dashed towards her and they started to fight.

“Catra’s really not here? And she left you in charge?” The blonde asked in disbelief.

“Yes. Why do people keep acting surprised by that? And speaking of Catra, why did you send her that letter?”

“Wh-you guys received it?” _Dang it I was really hoping it got lost on its way!_

“Did you not know it was sent? Why did you write it in the first place?” Scorpia asked, genuinely curious about it.

“I did know about it, I just wasn’t sure whether it reached its destination! And the reason for why I wrote it is complicated, ok?” She-ra grunted. Then a question that she had on her mind the day of the incident popped up. She was originally not intending to ask it, as she feared that that would make her sound desperate, but what harm could it do now that she knew for sure that Catra received the letter? “How did she react to it?” She carefully asked while blocking off the other woman’s giant claws.

“She seemed indifferent about it, and she said that she would ignore it— Wait why am I even telling you this? We’re supposed to be fighting!” 

“Hey you’re the one who first started this conversation!” the blonde shouted in annoyance.

The rest of the fight went on without any particular comments. The Sword of Protection was thrown over the wall, Glimmer came to the rescue only for her to be dangled over the edge, then the rest of the alliance came to aid the pair and Scorpia was tossed off into the water.

The Princess alliance cheered as the skiff drove off. At that moment Adora was just happy that their improvising worked out somewhat decently, but soon she remembered what she had learned from Scorpia. _Oh, right_.

**Catra’s POV**

”And _why_ did you ask her that?” Catra asked while smacking her forehead in disappointment. Not only did Scorpia fail the one mission she thought even she couldn’t mess up, but also mentioned the letter to Adora when she specifically told her _not_ to.

“I was just really curious why she sent it and I forgot what you told me.. I am _so_ sorry I did that and I won't do it ever again!” Scorpia apologized. 

“Whatever. It’s not like I expected you to actually be able to keep your mouth shut anyways.” the feline growled. Now that both acknowledged the existence of the letter, great. she was originally intending to ignore it as it seemed like it was not beneficial to her in any way. But why had she asked about her reaction it anyways? Did it bother her? Then maybe it _could_ come into use after all..

While thinking all this, Scorpia looked down at the floor, ashamed that she disappointed her proclaimed best friend.

**Adora’s POV**

“She’s definitely gonna bring it up the next time we fight. I just know it.” Adora grumbled into her pillow. 

They were back in Adora’s room after they had succeeded in their mission and this time, Bow was here as well. At first, the archer was confused on why Adora had been so distressed, but after the girls explained what had previously happened he fully understood.

“Didn’t you say that according to Scorpia, Catra decided to ignore it?“ Glimmer questioned.

“Yeah, but knowing her, I _know_ she will! Scorpia probably mentioned how I looked while asking and Catra will get the idea to use this to her advantage if she hadn’t already! “

“Will that bother you though?” Bow asked.

Adora pondered. “Well not really?” _I mean, she probably already knew most of the stuff I said in there. And I’m ready for whatever hateful comment regarding the letter she’ll throw at me._

“Then you have nothing to worry about!” Glimmer tried to reassure her. 

“So what if she brings it up? You can just tell her that it was an accident.” Bow said.

“And if she tries to get under your skin just kick her ass and get the fight over with!” Glimmer added. Bow glared at the sparkly girl for her language.

“I guess you’re right.” Adora sighed. “Thanks guys, I don’t know what I would do without you.”

“No problem!” Glimmer said while hugging the blonde.

“We’re always here if you need to talk” Bow joined in on the best friend squad hug.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Again, any constructive criticisms are welcome


	3. Hey, Adora

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For the first time since the letter was sent, Catra and Adora meet in battle. (Set soon after Roll with it in canon universe, replacing some events in Song of the Sea Witch? I don’t have the book and I don’t really know what its about)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Me struggling with chapter title 2: electric boogaloo) (edit: ik it’s very uncreative but that was the only thing I could think of, if you have any other suggestions please share them)
> 
> Sorry this chapter’s significantly shorter than the previous ones, I didn't feel like this one didn't need any POV changes or anything like that  
> But anyways, Tysm for 20+ kudos and 300+ hits! All your supports are really appreciated <33
> 
> On a side note, i removed the angst tag cause I realized that the things going on in this are too soft to be called angst

Even after the talk with Bow and Glimmer and a week or two after their victory at the fort, Adora still feels uneasy about the fact that the next time she and Catra meet in battle, the other girl may dangle the information she acquired from Scorpia over her head. She doesn’t tell her friends this, as this is probably old news to them by now and she didn’t want to bother them.

Then they receive some reports that there had been Horde activity spotted in a forest near Elberon. So, the Best Friend Squad had decided to go check it out (with queen Angella’s permission of course). 

While travelling to their destination, Adora silently prayed that Catra would decide not to show up again, and leave this mission to Scorpia again, or maybe even Lonnie or some other cadet. 

But unfortunately, her wish did not come true.

“Hey, Adora” Catra’s smug voice was heard from a nearby tree after she called out “ _For the honour of Grayskull”_ and finished transforming. 

“Catra” She-ra grumbled.

The said feline-like girl jumped down from her hiding place and started strolling towards her, her tail flicking in amusement. “Well that’s not a proper way to greet someone you sent a letter to. Did not seeing me for a month make you miss me that much?” She said in a mocking tone.

She-ra felt annoyance spark inside her. “Did you even read it? Of course I miss you! Also I sent that by accident!” She hissed, remembering Bow’s advice on what to say. 

“An accident you say, so you didn’t mean any of the things you said?” Her heterochromic eyes widened in fake surprise, clearly knowing and enjoying the fact that she was getting under the blonde’s skin.

“Wh- no! I did mean it! I just wasn’t gonna actually send it!”

“Well that was a very well revised letter for something that wasn’t meant to be sent.” She smirked before dashing forward and starting to battle the 8ft tall warrior. 

They fought in silence minus some grunts and frustrated hisses for a while before Catra growls “I didn’t know you would have the guts to be all lovey dovey and say _I miss everything about you_ when _you’re_ the one who left me to join those pesky princesses”

Adora huffed. “I didn’t leave you! I mean I guess I did but you deliberately chose to stay! You could’ve followed me but you're the one who refused!” 

Catra rolled her eyes. “We are not going through this argument _again_. Seriously, is that the only thing you have to say? You lack so much creativity it really should be a crime.”

“Says you who says the exact same thing every single time you see me.”

“Uh that is called a _catchphrase_ , your majesty. It’s supposed to be said repeatedly.” her voice dripped with sarcasm.

“Ok you know what? Why am I even talking to you?” 

Catra was about to make a feisty retort but after observing her surroundings, she realized that while she was distracted with Adora, the Rebellion gained the upper hand in this fight and that they were outnumbered. “Retreat!” she orders the troop and they immediately start running towards their skiffs.

She-ra turned back to her usual form and watched in disappointment as the soldiers scurried away. Even if she had said that she gave up on trying to convince Catra to join the rebellion, she was secretly hoping that this incident could be a chance to talk things out, and get her ex-best friend to join the good side. _But I guess there’s no point in trying,_ she thought bitterly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! As always constructive criticisms are welcome  
> (Technically there’s one chapter left, but it’s an epilogue)


	4. The war is over and we are beginning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the war’s finally over, Adora and Catra have a conversation before going to bed, reminiscing about everything that previously happened in this fic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Chapter title is from 'In our bedroom after the war', ik its probably overused for post-canon fic titles but I didn't have any other idea so *shrug*)
> 
> I finished my first fanfic woo!  
> Sorry about not updating for a month :(( Life got busy, I bit off more than I can chew with October art prompts (why did I think it was a good idea to do two of them at once) and then my motivation got thanos snapped
> 
> Anyways, hope this is a satisfying/decent ending!

A couple of months has passed since the war between the Horde- both the Etherian one and intergalactic one- ended. Since then, so much has happened, and they weren’t even through the list of things that needed to be done. They spent most of their time between going on a road trip to restore magic in all the universe, and dealing with the damage that decades of conflict has left on the land.

But for now, all they had to do was to rest up for tomorrow. So Adora and Catra changed into their nightwears and got into their bed which, by Catra’s request, was fluffed up more after they had managed to settle back down in Brightmoon.

Finally being able to take a breather from everything that has been going on, the feline remembered a certain incident that occured a while ago and asked her girlfriend “Hey, remember that one time when you sent a letter by accident?” 

Adora chuckled. "Of course, how could I forget? I was so mad at glimmer for a while back then because of that.”

“Wait sparkles was the one who sent it?” Catra snorted.

“Yeah. If my memories are correct, she said that she wanted to save me the trouble of sending it off, so she did it herself.”

“That sounds like her.” While in a comfortable silence, she came to a realization. “Huh. I actually was going to ignore it until Scorpia decided to talk to you about it. Maybe they planned this together to hook us up?” she joked.

Adora gaped in faux-surprise. “Wow! Our two friends betrayed their respective side just so we could be together! What a shame that it didn’t work out till the almost-end of the world though.”

Catra chuckled before a burning question appeared in her mind. “I was wondering this for a while, but did you write love there cause you felt the way you do now?” 

The blond shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess I was aware of how much I cared about you all this time, but didn’t realize what it really meant. It wasn’t like the horde sat us all down one day and said ’hey kids we're gonna teach you about what romantic attraction is and what it feels like!’ Plus we were on the opposite sides of a war so that didn’t help.” 

“True.” Catra yawned, and sleep was starting to overtake her, but she had one more thing to ask. “If I hadn’t been so wrapped up inside my own head and used that opportunity to, I don’t know, actually talk to you like a sensible being, do you think we could’ve ended up together more quickly?”

Adora pondered for a minute “I’m not sure. Even if we did, there could've been so many different outcomes where we did or didn’t get together. But at least we found each other in the end, right?”

“Yeah I guess.” Even if her days spent after Adora left, pushing everyone away and spiraling down a path of self destruction, was painful and she regretted every moment of it, she would be able to relive it in a heartbeat if she knew how it would all end.

Feeling her eye lid getting heavier with fatigue, Catra curled up next to her girlfriend. “Goodnight Adora” she sleepily murmured.

“Good night to you too.” Adora planted a small kiss on Catra’s forehead and drifted into sleep- hopefully free of any nightmare.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm terrible with words so I don't really know what to say here, but thank you so, so much for sticking around till the end <33
> 
> I've been planning this fic for a while (ever since I saw the trailer for the movie adaptation of To all the boys I loved before a couple of months ago) but wasn't able to actually post it cause I was worried that I would mess something up or that I would completely lose motivation midway (and as someone who reads a lot of fics, I know the pain of finding an unfinished and really interesting story but realize that it hasn't been updated since 2018-19) but I'm glad that I managed to finish this
> 
> To everyone who gave kudos and commented, thank you from the bottom of my heart. Ik I'm really awkward when it comes to talking with other people and I may have come off as aloof or like I wasn't being genuine, but I really did appreciate that some random person on the internet liked my stuff and cared enough to show somewhat-physical proof of it, if that makes sense?
> 
> Hope you all found this enjoyable and have a good day/night/afternoon/whatever time it is for you rn!  
> (I do have some ideas on what my next fic will be (probably a TOH oneshot), but it’ll take a while do finish it cause, you know, school + other responsibilities)


End file.
